Bloomberg: As the Crypto Market Crashes, the Trump Family and Its Supporters See Their Wealth Plummet

By: blockbeats|2025/11/24 16:00:07
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Original Article Title: Crypto Crash Is Eroding Wealth for Trump's Family and Followers
Original Article Authors: Tom Maloney, Annie Massa, Bloomberg
Original Article Translation: Luffy, Foresight News

During Donald Trump's second term as president, cryptocurrency has reshaped the wealth landscape of his family. Today, the Trump family and its followers are experiencing firsthand the inherent volatility of cryptocurrency.

Since August, a memecoin named after Trump, TRUMP, has plummeted in value by about a quarter; Eric Trump (Trump's second son) has seen his stake in a Bitcoin mining company shrink by nearly half from its peak; and the Trump Media & Technology Group, which started accumulating Bitcoin this year, has seen its stock price plummet to near historic lows.

Bloomberg: As the Crypto Market Crashes, the Trump Family and Its Supporters See Their Wealth Plummet

On September 16, Eric Trump speaks at the Nasdaq bell-ringing ceremony for a U.S. Bitcoin company.

The recent sell-off is part of a broader cryptocurrency market crash, with the total market value of all crypto assets plunging by over $1 trillion. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, the Trump family's wealth has shrunk from around $7.7 billion in early September to approximately $6.7 billion, with the decline largely tied to the family's steadily expanding cryptocurrency-related investment portfolio.

These investments involve complex trades, far beyond just a direct bet on cryptocurrency. Retail investors now have more avenues to participate in Trump-related crypto projects, potentially leading to greater losses. For example, anyone who speculated by buying TRUMP at its peak after Trump announced the memecoin launch over his inauguration weekend in January would have lost almost their entire investment value this month.

Eric Trump has expressed confidence, stating that he remains bullish. He has repeatedly urged investors to double down, maintaining this view even during a downturn in the cryptocurrency market.

“This is a prime buying opportunity,” he said in a statement to Bloomberg News. “Those who buy the dip and embrace volatility will ultimately emerge as winners. I have never been more optimistic about the future of Bitcoin and the modernization of the financial system."

Indeed, since its inception in 2009, Bitcoin has experienced several major price drops, but has ultimately set new highs over time. However, the Trump family's crypto asset holdings have a buffer mechanism. Despite the significant decline in the value of the tokens they hold and shares of crypto-related companies, they can still profit through other avenues in the cryptocurrency industry.

Take, for example, their jointly founded crypto project World Liberty Financial: While the Trump family's holding of associated tokens has decreased in book value, regardless of price fluctuations, they still have the right to a proportional share of the token sale proceeds.

“Retail investors can only speculate,” said Jim Angel, a finance professor at Georgetown University, “while the Trump family can not only speculate but also issue tokens, sell tokens, and profit from these transactions.”

Below is an overview of the Trump family's performance in crypto-related assets during this recent downturn.

Trump Media & Technology Group: $800 Million Loss

The parent company of the Truth Social platform, Trump Media & Technology Group, saw its stock price hit an all-time low on Wednesday. Part of the reason for this recent decline may be attributed to its ill-timed cryptocurrency investments.

Since September, Trump's stake in the company has shrunk by approximately $800 million. He is the largest shareholder of the company, with shares held through a trust fund overseen by his son, Donald Trump Jr.

Trump Media & Technology Group stock has plummeted 66% over the past year

The unprofitable Trump Media & Technology Group has been trying out several new businesses, including in the cryptocurrency field. According to a July announcement, the company has invested about $2 billion in purchasing Bitcoin and options. Its holdings of approximately 11,500 Bitcoins were acquired at an average price of $115,000 per coin, and the position has currently incurred a cumulative loss of about 25%.

In addition, the company has also started accumulating the niche token CRO issued by the Singaporean cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com. As of the end of September, Trump Media's holdings of CRO tokens were valued at approximately $147 million, which has since shrunk by nearly half.

Trump Media is also collaborating with Crypto.com on other ventures, with plans to launch a prediction market platform called Truth Predict, allowing users to bet on sports events and political outcomes.

World Liberty Financial: Nearly $3 Billion Paper Loss

The core crypto project of the Trump family, World Liberty Financial, issued its own token, WLFI. The token price has dropped from around 26 cents in early September to about 15 cents.

The WLFI tokens held by the Trump family were valued at nearly $6 billion at their peak, but have now shrunk to about $3.15 billion. (These tokens are not included in Bloomberg's billionaire index's family wealth valuation as they are currently in a locked state and cannot be traded.)

World Liberty Financial Official Website

In August this year, the company sold some tokens to the small publicly traded company Alt5 Sigma Corp. The timing of this sale was opportune: World Liberty Financial received $750 million in cash and partial equity through the transaction.

However, Alt5's investors were not necessarily as lucky. Since the announcement of the transaction, Alt5's stock price has fallen by about 75%.

The value of Alt5 stock held by the Trump family through World Liberty Financial has shrunk by about $220 million, but they still profited from the transaction. According to Bloomberg's calculations, the Trump family received about 75% of the proceeds from the World Liberty Financial token sale, with $500 million credited solely from the Alt5 transaction, in addition to about $400 million received earlier through the WLFI token sale.

"Cryptocurrency is here to stay," a World Liberty Financial spokesperson said in a statement. "We have long-term confidence in the rapidly maturing technology that underpins crypto assets and believe these technologies will revolutionize the financial services sector."

American Bitcoin: Loss of at least $330 Million

Approximately two months after Trump took office, his family ventured into another new crypto project. Eric Trump and a junior Donald Trump engaged in a series of complex transactions with the crypto company Hut 8 Corp.: Hut 8 exchanged its self-mined bitcoins for a majority stake in the newly formed company American Bitcoin Corp.

Eric Trump holds approximately 7.5% of American Bitcoin Company, which has been listed on Nasdaq (stock code ABTC). A small amount of undisclosed shares are held by Donald Trump Jr.

In early September, ABTC's stock price reached a peak of $9.31, valuing Eric's holdings at around $630 million. Subsequently, the stock price has fallen by more than half, resulting in a more than $300 million shrinkage of the family's wealth. However, this transaction remains one of the clearest examples of the Trump family's recent acquisition of hundreds of millions of dollars in new wealth through cryptocurrency-related businesses.

If an investor bought the stock when ABTC went public, they are currently facing a 45% loss. An ABTC spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

Trump Memecoin: Nearly $120 Million Loss, $220 Million Tokens Unlocked

This memecoin has been in a continuous freefall since its announcement over the President's Day weekend, and has further shrunk by about 25% since the end of August.

The scale of the Trump family's holdings in the token is not transparent. Risk modeling company Gauntlet found that months after the token was launched, wallets associated with the issuance held nearly 17 million tokens, with another 17 million transferred to cryptocurrency exchanges. In July of this year, an additional 90 million tokens were unlocked for circulation. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, based on the Trump family's stake in World Liberty Financial, 40% of the total memecoin supply is attributed to the Trump family's wealth.

At the current price, these tokens are valued at approximately $310 million, a decrease of about $117 million since the end of August.

However, according to the index's calculations, the Trump family's token holdings have significantly increased. Part of the tokens held by insiders and the issuer were previously locked and are set to gradually unlock over three years.

According to data from cryptocurrency research firm Messari, after the unlock event in July, insiders added nearly 90 million Trump memecoins to circulation, with approximately 40% being attributed to the Trump family by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

The value of these newly unlocked tokens is approximately $220 million, indicating that the total value of the family's holdings has increased. It is currently unclear whether the Trump family has sold any of these tokens since July.

Original Article Link

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China's Central Bank and Eight Other Departments' Latest Regulatory Focus: Key Attention to RWA Tokenized Asset Risk


Foreword: Today, the People's Bank of China's website published the "Notice of the People's Bank of China, National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Ministry of Public Security, State Administration for Market Regulation, China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, China Securities Regulatory Commission, State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Further Preventing and Dealing with Risks Related to Virtual Currency and Others (Yinfa [2026] No. 42)", the latest regulatory requirements from the eight departments including the central bank, which are basically consistent with the regulatory requirements of recent years. The main focus of the regulation is on speculative activities such as virtual currency trading, exchanges, ICOs, overseas platform services, and this time, regulatory oversight of RWA has been added, explicitly prohibiting RWA tokenization, stablecoins (especially those pegged to the RMB). The following is the full text:


To the people's governments of all provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government, the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps:


  Recently, there have been speculative activities related to virtual currency and Real-World Assets (RWA) tokenization, disrupting the economic and financial order and jeopardizing the property security of the people. In order to further prevent and address the risks related to virtual currency and Real-World Assets tokenization, effectively safeguard national security and social stability, in accordance with the "Law of the People's Republic of China on the People's Bank of China," "Law of the People's Republic of China on Commercial Banks," "Securities Law of the People's Republic of China," "Law of the People's Republic of China on Securities Investment Funds," "Law of the People's Republic of China on Futures and Derivatives," "Cybersecurity Law of the People's Republic of China," "Regulations of the People's Republic of China on the Administration of Renminbi," "Regulations on Prevention and Disposal of Illegal Fundraising," "Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Foreign Exchange Administration," "Telecommunications Regulations of the People's Republic of China," and other provisions, after reaching consensus with the Cyberspace Administration of China, the Supreme People's Court, and the Supreme People's Procuratorate, and with the approval of the State Council, the relevant matters are notified as follows:


  I. Clarify the essential attributes of virtual currency, Real-World Assets tokenization, and related business activities


  (I) Virtual currency does not possess the legal status equivalent to fiat currency. Virtual currencies such as Bitcoin, Ether, Tether, etc., have the main characteristics of being issued by non-monetary authorities, using encryption technology and distributed ledger or similar technology, existing in digital form, etc. They do not have legal tender status, should not and cannot be circulated and used as currency in the market.


  The business activities related to virtual currency are classified as illegal financial activities. The exchange of fiat currency and virtual currency within the territory, exchange of virtual currencies, acting as a central counterparty in buying and selling virtual currencies, providing information intermediary and pricing services for virtual currency transactions, token issuance financing, and trading of virtual currency-related financial products, etc., fall under illegal financial activities, such as suspected illegal issuance of token vouchers, unauthorized public issuance of securities, illegal operation of securities and futures business, illegal fundraising, etc., are strictly prohibited across the board and resolutely banned in accordance with the law. Overseas entities and individuals are not allowed to provide virtual currency-related services to domestic entities in any form.


  A stablecoin pegged to a fiat currency indirectly fulfills some functions of the fiat currency in circulation. Without the consent of relevant authorities in accordance with the law and regulations, any domestic or foreign entity or individual is not allowed to issue a RMB-pegged stablecoin overseas.


(II)Tokenization of Real-World Assets refers to the use of encryption technology and distributed ledger or similar technologies to transform ownership rights, income rights, etc., of assets into tokens (tokens) or other interests or bond certificates with token (token) characteristics, and carry out issuance and trading activities.


  Engaging in the tokenization of real-world assets domestically, as well as providing related intermediary, information technology services, etc., which are suspected of illegal issuance of token vouchers, unauthorized public offering of securities, illegal operation of securities and futures business, illegal fundraising, and other illegal financial activities, shall be prohibited; except for relevant business activities carried out with the approval of the competent authorities in accordance with the law and regulations and relying on specific financial infrastructures. Overseas entities and individuals are not allowed to illegally provide services related to the tokenization of real-world assets to domestic entities in any form.


  II. Sound Work Mechanism


  (III) Inter-agency Coordination. The People's Bank of China, together with the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security, the State Administration for Market Regulation, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, and other departments, will improve the work mechanism, strengthen coordination with the Cyberspace Administration of China, the Supreme People's Court, and the Supreme People's Procuratorate, coordinate efforts, and overall guide regions to carry out risk prevention and disposal of virtual currency-related illegal financial activities.


  The China Securities Regulatory Commission, together with the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security, the People's Bank of China, the State Administration for Market Regulation, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, and other departments, will improve the work mechanism, strengthen coordination with the Cyberspace Administration of China, the Supreme People's Court, and the Supreme People's Procuratorate, coordinate efforts, and overall guide regions to carry out risk prevention and disposal of illegal financial activities related to the tokenization of real-world assets.


  (IV) Strengthening Local Implementation. The people's governments at the provincial level are overall responsible for the prevention and disposal of risks related to virtual currencies and the tokenization of real-world assets in their respective administrative regions. The specific leading department is the local financial regulatory department, with participation from branches and dispatched institutions of the State Council's financial regulatory department, telecommunications regulators, public security, market supervision, and other departments, in coordination with cyberspace departments, courts, and procuratorates, to improve the normalization of the work mechanism, effectively connect with the relevant work mechanisms of central departments, form a cooperative and coordinated working pattern between central and local governments, effectively prevent and properly handle risks related to virtual currencies and the tokenization of real-world assets, and maintain economic and financial order and social stability.


  III. Strengthened Risk Monitoring, Prevention, and Disposal


  (5) Enhanced Risk Monitoring. The People's Bank of China, China Securities Regulatory Commission, National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Ministry of Public Security, State Administration of Foreign Exchange, Cyberspace Administration of China, and other departments continue to improve monitoring techniques and system support, enhance cross-departmental data analysis and sharing, establish sound information sharing and cross-validation mechanisms, promptly grasp the risk situation of activities related to virtual currency and real-world asset tokenization. Local governments at all levels give full play to the role of local monitoring and early warning mechanisms. Local financial regulatory authorities, together with branches and agencies of the State Council's financial regulatory authorities, as well as departments of cyberspace and public security, ensure effective connection between online monitoring, offline investigation, and fund tracking, efficiently and accurately identify activities related to virtual currency and real-world asset tokenization, promptly share risk information, improve early warning information dissemination, verification, and rapid response mechanisms.


  (6) Strengthened Oversight of Financial Institutions, Intermediaries, and Technology Service Providers. Financial institutions (including non-bank payment institutions) are prohibited from providing account opening, fund transfer, and clearing services for virtual currency-related business activities, issuing and selling financial products related to virtual currency, including virtual currency and related financial products in the scope of collateral, conducting insurance business related to virtual currency, or including virtual currency in the scope of insurance liability. Financial institutions (including non-bank payment institutions) are prohibited from providing custody, clearing, and settlement services for unauthorized real-world asset tokenization-related business and related financial products. Relevant intermediary institutions and information technology service providers are prohibited from providing intermediary, technical, or other services for unauthorized real-world asset tokenization-related businesses and related financial products.


  (7) Enhanced Management of Internet Information Content and Access. Internet enterprises are prohibited from providing online business venues, commercial displays, marketing, advertising, or paid traffic diversion services for virtual currency and real-world asset tokenization-related business activities. Upon discovering clues of illegal activities, they should promptly report to relevant departments and provide technical support and assistance for related investigations and inquiries. Based on the clues transferred by the financial regulatory authorities, the cyberspace administration, telecommunications authorities, and public security departments should promptly close and deal with websites, mobile applications (including mini-programs), and public accounts engaged in virtual currency and real-world asset tokenization-related business activities in accordance with the law.


  (8) Strengthened Entity Registration and Advertisement Management. Market supervision departments strengthen entity registration and management, and enterprise and individual business registrations must not contain terms such as "virtual currency," "virtual asset," "cryptocurrency," "crypto asset," "stablecoin," "real-world asset tokenization," or "RWA" in their names or business scopes. Market supervision departments, together with financial regulatory authorities, legally enhance the supervision of advertisements related to virtual currency and real-world asset tokenization, promptly investigating and handling relevant illegal advertisements.


  (IX) Continued Rectification of Virtual Currency Mining Activities. The National Development and Reform Commission, together with relevant departments, strictly controls virtual currency mining activities, continuously promotes the rectification of virtual currency mining activities. The people's governments of various provinces take overall responsibility for the rectification of "mining" within their respective administrative regions. In accordance with the requirements of the National Development and Reform Commission and other departments in the "Notice on the Rectification of Virtual Currency Mining Activities" (NDRC Energy-saving Building [2021] No. 1283) and the provisions of the "Guidance Catalog for Industrial Structure Adjustment (2024 Edition)," a comprehensive review, investigation, and closure of existing virtual currency mining projects are conducted, new mining projects are strictly prohibited, and mining machine production enterprises are strictly prohibited from providing mining machine sales and other services within the country.


  (X) Severe Crackdown on Related Illegal Financial Activities. Upon discovering clues to illegal financial activities related to virtual currency and the tokenization of real-world assets, local financial regulatory authorities, branches of the State Council's financial regulatory authorities, and other relevant departments promptly investigate, determine, and properly handle the issues in accordance with the law, and seriously hold the relevant entities and individuals legally responsible. Those suspected of crimes are transferred to the judicial authorities for processing according to the law.


 (XI) Severe Crackdown on Related Illegal and Criminal Activities. The Ministry of Public Security, the People's Bank of China, the State Administration for Market Regulation, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, as well as judicial and procuratorial organs, in accordance with their respective responsibilities, rigorously crack down on illegal and criminal activities related to virtual currency, the tokenization of real-world assets, such as fraud, money laundering, illegal business operations, pyramid schemes, illegal fundraising, and other illegal and criminal activities carried out under the guise of virtual currency, the tokenization of real-world assets, etc.


  (XII) Strengthen Industry Self-discipline. Relevant industry associations should enhance membership management and policy advocacy, based on their own responsibilities, advocate and urge member units to resist illegal financial activities related to virtual currency and the tokenization of real-world assets. Member units that violate regulatory policies and industry self-discipline rules are to be disciplined in accordance with relevant self-regulatory management regulations. By leveraging various industry infrastructure, conduct risk monitoring related to virtual currency, the tokenization of real-world assets, and promptly transfer issue clues to relevant departments.


  IV. Strict Supervision of Domestic Entities Engaging in Overseas Business Activities


(XIII) Without the approval of relevant departments in accordance with the law and regulations, domestic entities and foreign entities controlled by them may not issue virtual currency overseas.


  (XIV) Domestic entities engaging directly or indirectly in overseas external debt-based tokenization of real-world assets, or conducting asset securitization activities abroad based on domestic ownership rights, income rights, etc. (hereinafter referred to as domestic equity), should be strictly regulated in accordance with the principles of "same business, same risk, same rules." The National Development and Reform Commission, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, and other relevant departments regulate it according to their respective responsibilities. For other forms of overseas real-world asset tokenization activities based on domestic equity by domestic entities, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, together with relevant departments, supervise according to their division of responsibilities. Without the consent and filing of relevant departments, no unit or individual may engage in the above-mentioned business.


  (15) Overseas subsidiaries and branches of domestic financial institutions providing Real World Asset Tokenization-related services overseas shall do so legally and prudently. They shall have professional personnel and systems in place to effectively mitigate business risks, strictly implement customer onboarding, suitability management, anti-money laundering requirements, and incorporate them into the domestic financial institutions' compliance and risk management system. Intermediaries and information technology service providers offering Real World Asset Tokenization services abroad based on domestic equity or conducting Real World Asset Tokenization business in the form of overseas debt for domestic entities directly or indirectly venturing abroad must strictly comply with relevant laws and regulations. They should establish and improve relevant compliance and internal control systems in accordance with relevant normative requirements, strengthen business and risk control, and report the business developments to the relevant regulatory authorities for approval or filing.


  V. Strengthen Organizational Implementation


  (16) Strengthen organizational leadership and overall coordination. All departments and regions should attach great importance to the prevention of risks related to virtual currencies and Real World Asset Tokenization, strengthen organizational leadership, clarify work responsibilities, form a long-term effective working mechanism with centralized coordination, local implementation, and shared responsibilities, maintain high pressure, dynamically monitor risks, effectively prevent and mitigate risks in an orderly and efficient manner, legally protect the property security of the people, and make every effort to maintain economic and financial order and social stability.


  (17) Widely carry out publicity and education. All departments, regions, and industry associations should make full use of various media and other communication channels to disseminate information through legal and policy interpretation, analysis of typical cases, and education on investment risks, etc. They should promote the illegality and harm of virtual currencies and Real World Asset Tokenization-related businesses and their manifestations, fully alert to potential risks and hidden dangers, and enhance public awareness and identification capabilities for risk prevention.


  VI. Legal Responsibility


  (18) Engaging in illegal financial activities related to virtual currencies and Real World Asset Tokenization in violation of this notice, as well as providing services for virtual currencies and Real World Asset Tokenization-related businesses, shall be punished in accordance with relevant regulations. If it constitutes a crime, criminal liability shall be pursued according to the law. For domestic entities and individuals who knowingly or should have known that overseas entities illegally provided virtual currency or Real World Asset Tokenization-related services to domestic entities and still assisted them, relevant responsibilities shall be pursued according to the law. If it constitutes a crime, criminal liability shall be pursued according to the law.


  (19) If any unit or individual invests in virtual currencies, Real World Asset Tokens, and related financial products against public order and good customs, the relevant civil legal actions shall be invalid, and any resulting losses shall be borne by them. If there are suspicions of disrupting financial order and jeopardizing financial security, the relevant departments shall deal with them according to the law.


  This notice shall enter into force upon the date of its issuance. The People's Bank of China and ten other departments' "Notice on Further Preventing and Dealing with the Risks of Virtual Currency Trading Speculation" (Yinfa [2021] No. 237) is hereby repealed.


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